Milwaukee Plays Host to the Hokies: A City Guide

The Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on the Texas Longhorns in their first round game of March Madness this Friday (March 18).

Tech's Storm Murphy will be experiencing a homecoming of sorts as Milwaukee is roughly 90 minutes away from where he grew up in Middleton, WI, which sits just outside of Madison.

Milwaukee is Wisconsin's most populous city and just like it's neighbor to the south (Chicago) it is nestled on beautiful Lake Michigan. Milwaukee is known for many things, such as their illustrious beer brewing, world famous cheese curds, and frozen custard.

Headed to Milwaukee for the game? Here are a few places and attractions to check out while you are there!

Just like any city that borders a body of water, there are always interesting places to go by the water, and Milwaukee is no different.

Take a stroll on Lake Michigan and stop in at places such as the War Memorial Center, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and Discovery World.

Maybe looking for a different vibe? Head south along the water to the Historic Third Ward neighborhood. This area is an eclectic mix of old renovated warehouses that are now serving as art galleries, as well as boutique shops and restaurants.

At one point in Milwaukee's history it was known as the "beer capital of the USA." For a while, it was the home to three of the titans in the industry, with Miller, Schlitz, and Pabst all deciding to operate out of Milwaukee.

Now as the beer scene around the country has exploded in popularity, Milwaukee has kept a lot of it's traditional German beer roots. At every bar or brewery in Milwaukee you will no doubt find many German beer options.

With so many places to choose from, here are ones that people can't seem to stop talking about:

- Lakefront Brewery

- Eagle Park Brewing

- Hacienda Beer Co.

- 1840 Brewing

- Third Space Brewing

- Good City Brewing

You can't go wrong with any of these options in a beer crazed city like Milwaukee!

If there's one things that people associate Wisconsin with it's cheese. And if there's one dish that Wisconsin cheese is associated with it's cheese curds. They're usually served fried, and as a Green Bay Packers owner over here at Sons of Saturday, I can confirm that Wisconsin cheese curds live up to the hype.

I mean fried cheese... is there anything better?!

That being said, one would have high expectations for cheese curds in Wisconsin's most populous city and you'd be in luck. As nearly every bar and restaurant in the city has some style of cheese curd offering on their menu. You'll be hard-pressed to find a place serving up bad cheese curds in a Wisconsin city, but here are some places that have gained popularity simply based off this treat:

- Black Sheep

- Buckatabon

- Camino

- Dairyland

- Heirloom

Imagine finishing off a nice plate of savory cheese curds to then get a glorious sweet frozen custard dessert. Wisconsinites love their dairy!

Wisconsin, and Milwaukee in particular, are fanatical about their frozen custard. If you're not familiar, frozen custard is similar to soft-serve ice cream, except custard is made with the addition of eggs, while traditional ice cream is not. Including eggs gives the custard a smooth and creamy texture.

There are many locations of the midwestern franchise restaurant, Culver's, in and around Milwaukee. This spot originated in Sauk City, WI nearly 40 years ago. And they're a great spot to go if you're looking for some quick frozen custard.

However, if you're in Milwaukee you have to go to Leon's Frozen Custard. This place is one of the OG's in the game as it has been serving up frozen custard since 1942. If you do go, be prepared to potentially wait in line as this popular spot still draws crowds to this day!

Milwaukee is a great place to visit, so if you're going for the game you will no doubt have a fun time. Other places to check out include the Harley-Davidson Museum, Pabst Mansion, Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory (bio-domes), and many others.

Enjoy the city and go Hokies!

#LGH